(from Ferrari
Press Release) A request has been
made to Guinness World Records to register the record-breaking
achievement of two Ferrari 612 Scaglietti which are currently
participating in the Tour of China. This marks the first time that a
standard, road-registered 540hp two-wheel drive production car has
achieved an altitude of 5,231 metres – across the Tanggulashan
mountain pass, on the border between the Autonomous Region of Tibet
and China.

The cars, driven by international journalists, reached the mountain
pass easily. Despite the reduced oxygen levels available at such a
high altitude, and the lower quality of fuel available in the area,
the Ferrari’s 5.7-litre V12 engine, performed effortlessly without
any necessary modifications.

The expedition has crossed the Tibetan plateau, one of the most
isolated regions of the world, with the cars being driven for
thousands of miles at over 3,000 metres altitude, from Lhasa,
Tibet’s main city and the ancient home of the Dalai Lama.

In Lhasa, as in other cities reached by the Tour, the Team was
welcomed with enthusiasm by more than 200 children of a local school
which received books, school equipment and toys for the children as
part of the Tour of China’s programme to help schools most in need.

The China Tour started on 29 August in Shanghai and now moves on to
the Gobi Desert, passing through Kashi (Kaxgar), the most
continental city of the world and home of a wealthy silk market
which dates from the days of Marco Polo.